All posts by Sarah F. Sharpe

Events and Workshops, State of the Field

State of the Field 2023: Program

Archaeologies of the Mediterranean

Friday, 14 April 2023

Introductions and Keynotes

16:00-16:30:
Peter van Dommelen (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology) and Tyler Franconi (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology):
Introduction

16:30-17:15:
Lin Foxhall (Liverpool):
Keynote Address: “Changing Approaches to Mediterranean Archaeology: Seeking Small, Thinking Big“

17:15-18:00:
Elizabeth Fentress (UCL):
Keynote Address: “Mediterranean Networks — Towards a Collective Archaeology”

Saturday, 15 April 2023

Session 1: Perspectives

9:30-9:50:
Eva Mol (York), Andrew Gardner (UCL), Lindsey Allen (KCL), and Corinna Riva (UCL):
“New Agendas in Decolonised Mediterranean Archaeologies?”

9:50-10:10:
Benjamin Luley (Gettysburg):
“Comparing Colonialism: Between Classics and Anthropology in Roman Mediterranean Gaul”

10:10-10:30: Discussion

10:30-11:00: Coffee Break

Session 2: Pedagogy

11:00-11:20:
Stephen Collins-Elliot (Tennessee Knoxville):
“The Sisyphean Bind of Romanization: Post-Colonial Approaches, Cultural Essentialism, and Grand Narratives in Roman Archaeology”

11:20-11:40:
James Newhard (Charleston) and Allison Sterrett-Krause (Charleston):
“Consilience and Resilience: Mediterranean Archaeology at an American Undergraduate University”

11:40-12:00: Discussion

12:00-13:00: Lunch Break

Session 3: Geographies

13:00-13:20:
Leah Bernardo Ciddio (Michigan):
“From Its Depths: Archaeology and Colonialism through the Adriatic Mirror”

13:20-13:40:
Lara Fabian (Freiburg):
“Antiquity and the Narrativization of the Black Sea”

13:40-14:00:
Ana Delgado Hervás (Pompeu Fabra) and Mateo González Vázquez (Trier):
“Uncovering the Past and Present of Mediterranean Rural Landscapes. A View from the Iberian Peninsula”

14:00-14:30: Discussion

14:30-15:00: Coffee Break

Session 4: Diversity

15:00-15:20:
Ileana Micarelli (Cambridge):
“Osteobiographical Investigation of Disability and Care in Late Antique and Early Medieval Italy”

15:20-15:40:
Giulia Saltini Semerari (Michigan), Meritzell Ferrer (Pompeu Fabra), and Mireia Lopez-Bertran (Valencia):
“Gender Archaeology and the Ancient Mediterranean”

15:40-16:00: Discussion

16:00-16:15: Break

Final Discussion

16:15-17:00:
Dimitri Nakassis (Colorado)

Open to the Public

This conference will be held in person on the campus of Brown University, with the goal of bringing colleagues together to discuss the issues raised by the talks. It is free and open to the public, and no registration is required.

Although the conference will not be offered online in a hybrid format, we plan to film the proceedings and make as many of the talks as possible available for viewing online several weeks after the conference’s conclusion.

State of the Field 2023 | Archaeologies of the Mediterranean Home

Events and Workshops, State of the Field

CFP: Archaeologies of the Mediterranean (Brown University) – Deadline January 31, 2023

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CALL FOR PAPERS

State of the Field 2023:
Archaeologies of the Mediterranean

Friday, 14 April – Saturday, 15 April 2023

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Abstract deadline: 31 January 2023

Mediterranean Archaeology sits at an often complex intersection of the fields of Archaeology, Classics, Anthropology, History, and Art History. While several of these fields, in particular Classics and Anthropology have begun periods of significant critical self-reflection that explicitly question their present and future, Mediterranean Archaeology is doing so in a more fragmented manner. This lack of coherence may perhaps be ascribed to institutional fragmentation, in particular in US academia, but it can also be traced to its intricate location at the intersection of multiple academic traditions. As a result, Mediterranean archaeology has struggled to identify its own priorities and find its own voice for challenging traditional narratives and approaches and, as a result, risks being subsumed by adjacent disciplines with louder voices, despite many possible valuable contributions.

In light of these challenges, and especially considering the rapid pace of developments in archaeological methods and theory, the time is ripe to consider both the state of our field at this moment in time and to discuss where it can and should go in the future. Nearly every facet of Mediterranean Archaeology may be questioned and, indeed, we must do so in order to guarantee the continued relevance of our subject in both the ancient and modern worlds.

Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World will host a conference titled State of the Field 2023: Archaeologies of the Mediterraneanon April 14-15, 2023. This meeting builds on a tradition of ‘State of the Field’ workshops hosted by the Joukowsky Institute since 2011 that reflect upon current trends in archaeological practice. This year’s conference discusses the place of Mediterranean Archaeology in the modern world in North America, Europe and the Mediterranean. We intend to examine academic traditions and assumptions as well as contemporary institutional and political structures that frame our theoretical and methodological engagement with the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean and adjacent regions in order to ensure that the field maintains relevance into the future.

We invite submissions for papers of approximately 20 minutes by sending an abstract of no more than 350 words to  [email protected] by 31 January 2023. We will cover travel expenses and accommodation for speakers, and especially encourage submissions from early-career researchers.

Suggested themes can include, but are not limited to:

●     Diversity – How has the field fared in diversifying its participants at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels? This can include topics of gender, class, race and any other background. Have we succeeded in teaching and researching more diverse subjects that better account for ancient realities? What remains to be done?

●     Definitions – How do we define our field of study? What is its geography, chronology, and cultural scope? What subjects should we include, and what theories and methods should be used? How do we fit into current academic and university structures? Why does US academia not have Archaeology departments anymore? What are the consequences of this departmental division and what can we do about it? What do we have in common with other fields, and what is unique about our own?

●     Relationships – How do we relate to non-academic structures, especially State-run or commercial (i.e., rescue or preventative) archaeology? What role do foreign schools and institutions serve in forming these relationships? How do we engage responsibly with local communities in the places where we conduct fieldwork?

●     Historiography – How have the last two centuries (or more) of archaeological practice shaped the modern field, and should they be maintained or discarded? Have we done enough to examine and change the colonial foundations of the discipline? What can we do better?

●     Responsibilities – How do we communicate the significance of our field to the public, both at home and abroad? What role does public archaeology play in our field? How has pedagogy changed, and how might it change further? What role do museums and archaeological parks play in our public relationships? How should items and exhibits be displayed?

●     Narratives – How has our field shaped knowledge of the past? Are current practices changing narratives? What existing narratives remain to be challenged?

For questions about this Call for Papers, or about the conference, please see our conference website, www.brown.edu/go/sotf2023 or email [email protected].


Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Brown University | Box 1837 | Rhode Island Hall | 60 George Street | Providence, RI  02912
t: (401) 863-3188 | f: (401) 863-9423
e: [email protected] w: http://www.brown.edu/go/archaeology

Events and Workshops

CFP: Archaeology of the Levant

Call for Projects

(Photographs, Films, Multi-Media Installations, Posters)

State of the Field 2020:
Archaeology of the Levant

Friday, March 13 to Saturday, March 14, 2020

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Abstract Deadline: December 15, 2019

The Levant, a loosely defined region encompassing the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Cyprus, is rich in archaeology and history. The region has been central to the discipline of archaeology since the nineteenth century, and arguably even earlier. A long history of colonial rule, political and religious differences, academic specializations and passions, stark financial inequalities and war continue to inform and limit dialogue not only among local and foreign archaeologists working there, but also among scholars, local communities, government officials, and other stakeholders.

Aware of the ancient and modern importance of the region, the peculiar challenges it poses, the possibilities for collaboration, and the need for creative perspectives, the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University will host State of the Field 2020: Archaeology of the Levant on March 13-14, 2020.  The event is part of the Joukowsky Institute’s “State of the Field” conference series, a yearly meeting which aims to highlight and reflect upon specific thematic or regional archaeological topics within a community of scholars whose research engages with those topics.

State of the Field 2020: Archaeology of the Levant will be dedicated to addressing the unique aspects of the Levant through a series of invited papers and presentations, aimed to foster constructive discussion of current and future directions for archaeology in the region. Topics of particular interest include:

  • Current directions, critical trends, and lacunae in archaeological research in any part of the Levant, or in the region as a whole
  • Museum, archival studies, and other investigations that rely primarily on archaeological legacy data
  • The effects of colonial rule, modern geopolitics, fluctuating national boundaries, war, and migration, among many other factors regarding the practice and interpretations of archaeological work in the region

To expand the conversation beyond conventional academic papers, the Joukowsky Institute now invites contributions – particularly from early-career scholars – that touch on the themes of the conference and highlight new and innovative approaches to the study of the Levant. We welcome proposals for traditional conference posters, as well as less traditional projects, such as short films, artwork, podcasts, multi-media installations, or other forms that engage with the themes of the conference in thoughtful and illuminating ways.

Accepted posters and projects will be exhibited throughout the duration of the meeting and will be presented during a dedicated time slot shortly before the Friday-night reception. Contributors are encouraged, though not required, to attend and participate actively in the full conference and will be provided with lunch on Saturday, but will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.

To submit a proposal for a poster or project, please send an abstract of 250 words or less to [email protected] by December 15, 2019. For questions about this Call for Projects, or about the conference, please see our conference website, brown.edu/go/sotf2020, or email [email protected].

Events and Workshops

CFP: The Ancient DNA Revolution in Archaeology

1 Comment

Call for Papers:

State of the Field 2019:
The Ancient DNA Revolution in Archaeology

Friday, February 22 – Sunday, February 24, 2019

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Keynote Panelists:
Logan Kistler, Smithsonian Institution
Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith, University of Otago
Christina Warinner, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Oklahoma

Abstract Deadline: October 15, 2018

 

Ancient DNA has revolutionized archaeology and our understanding of human prehistory. Its insights have revealed hominins unknown from the fossil record, clarified global human migrations, and transformed how we understand plant and animal domestication processes. Despite these discoveries, many questions remain about how to interpret ancient DNA results and how to study the relationships between genes and culture:

  • How can we ensure that genetic results are interpreted within appropriate archaeological and anthropological frameworks?
  • How can we incorporate innovative paleogenetic methods into archaeological fieldwork and research design?
  • What are the ethical considerations of working with samples from archaeological contexts?

As laboratory and analytical methods continue to improve, the ancient DNA revolution is poised to expand even further within archaeology. At this time of innovation and possibility it is critical to assess the current trajectory and future of the discipline: the State of the Field.

Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World will host a conference titled State of the Field 2019: The Ancient DNA Revolution in Archaeology on February 22-24, 2019. Our gathering builds on a tradition of “State of the Field” workshops hosted by the Joukowsky Institute to reflect upon trends in archaeological research. This year’s conference aims to address the many issues surrounding the development and uses of ancient DNA methods around the world and to promote discussion between archaeologists, anthropologists, and geneticists in order to examine new opportunities and challenges for ancient DNA research in archaeology.

To submit a proposal for a paper of approximately 20 minutes or a poster, please send an abstract of 350 words or less to [email protected] by October 15, 2018. We will offer travel awards to multiple attendees, and encourage submissions from early-career scholars.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Genetic and archaeological perspectives on gene-culture co-evolution (e.g., lactase persistence and dairying in Neolithic Europe, high altitude adaptation and the peopling of the Tibetan Plateau, etc.)
  • Using ancient DNA to understand migration, exchange, and cross-cultural connections
  • Ancient DNA from plants and animals
  • Unconventional sources of ancient DNA data (e.g., environmental DNA in soils for identifying flora and fauna that do not preserve in the zooarchaeological or archaeobotanical record, dental calculus as a source of aDNA data on the oral microbiome, etc.)
  • Defining and naming ancient populations
  • Ethical considerations in aDNA research and involving descendant communities

For questions about this Call for Papers, or about the conference, please see our conference website, www.brown.edu/go/sotf2019 or email [email protected].

Download Call for Papers

Brown Bags, Events and Workshops

Brown Bag Talks for Fall 2018

Brown BagTalks are held
Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 PM
Rhode Island Hall, Room 108
Brown University, 60 George Street, Providence, RI

 

October 4, 2018:
Gretel Rodríguez (History of Art and Architecture, Brown University)
The Arch of Constantine and the Use of Colored Marbles in Late Antique Architecture

October 11, 2018:
Robert Preucel (Anthropology, Brown University)
The Predicament of Ontology

October 18, 2018:
Lauren Yapp (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Reclaimed or Reified? When Colonial Modernity becomes Cultural Heritage

October 25, 2018:
Georgia Andreou (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
The Cyprus Ancient Shoreline Project: How does coastal erosion fit the archaeological narrative?

November 1, 2018:
Jennifer Bates (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Life in Indus Households: an exploration of SPatial ACtivity Environments

November 8, 2018:
Nicholas Emlen (National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, John Carter Brown Library, Brown University)
Hearing the Voice of an Indigenous Translator in a 17th Century Aymara Text from Peru

November 15 , 2018:
Surekha Davies (InterAmericas Fellow, John Carter Brown Library, Brown University)
The Global, the Local, and the Ancient: Displaying Antiquities in Early Modern Europe

November 29, 2018:
Praveena Gullapalli (Rhode Island College)
Chronology, Craft, Conundrum: What to Make of the South Indian Iron Age?

December 6, 2018:
Karen Carr (Portland State University)
Swimming While White: When Did the Greeks Learn to Swim?

Events and Workshops

CFP: Archaeology and Social Justice

1 Comment

Call for Papers:

State of the Field 2018:
Archaeology and Social Justice

Friday, March 2 – Saturday, March 3, 2018
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World will host a workshop called State of the Field 2018: Archaeology and Social Justice on March 2-3, 2018.  The workshop will be the culmination of two years of discussion on this theme, and is also intended to raise new issues, ask new questions, and encourage ongoing dialogue.  Our gathering builds on a tradition of “State of the Field” workshops hosted by the Joukowsky Institute to reflect upon trends in archaeological work, each year focusing our discussion on issues impacting an area of particular interest to our faculty and students.  While previous versions have dealt with a country or region of archaeological significance, this year’s event will focus on archaeology’s relationship to ongoing movements for social justice.

Within the context of archaeology, we conceive of social justice as pertaining to issues of privilege and opportunity that affect the makeup of scholars in the field, efforts among archaeologists to engage with the public and with broader social and political discussions, and the degree to which archaeological scholarship and pedagogy intersect with or impact these issues. It also refers to the asymmetries of power and structural inequalities in society at large. This choice of topic has been inspired by recent global social and political concerns, responses from universities and academia that seek to address issues of representation and access, and, most importantly, grassroots movements for social justice.

This workshop thus seeks to engage primarily with the role of archaeology in contemporary social justice movements, while insisting that discussions of diversity in the past can inform experience in the present. We welcome papers that explore the relationship between archaeology and the present political climate, with the intention of addressing the challenges currently facing the field of archaeology and the academy more broadly. We also seek to engage in conversations about the biases and structural problems that make archaeology more accessible to some than to others, in order to help the discipline reach a broader and more inclusive public.

The workshop will include four sessions, each addressing issues of the relationship of archaeology to ongoing struggles for social justice and/or the role of archaeology in those struggles. Rather than predefining the content of these sessions, we intend to shape them with contributions from this call for papers; we wish to offer an open space for discussion of the following, and other, relevant issues:

  • The materiality and temporality of current social issues
  • Disciplinary decolonization
  • Archaeology’s role in discussions of “diversity and inclusion”
  • Identity and inequality in the past and present
  • Structural and practical access to archaeology and the academy
  • Activism and engagement within archaeology
  • Archaeology in/of social justice movements
  • Archaeology’s relationship to white nationalism
  • Archaeology in moments of crisis

To submit a proposal for a paper of approximately 20 minutes, please send an abstract of 350 words or less to [email protected] by October 1, 2017.

For questions about this CFP, or about the conference, please see our conference website, www.brown.edu/go/sotf2018 or email [email protected]

Download Call for Papers
 

Brown Bags, Events and Workshops

Brown Bag Talks for Fall 2016

Brown BagTalks are held
Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 PM
Rhode Island Hall, Room 108
Brown University, 60 George Street, Providence, RI

Please note that we are still adding to our schedule, and these dates are not yet finalized.

September 29, 2016
Katherine Brunson (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Zooarchaeological and Genetic Evidence for Cattle Domestication in Ancient China

October 13, 2016
Sophie Moore (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Archives Are Archaeological Objects

October 20, 2016
Bathsheba Demuth (History, Brown University)
Agency Sits in Places: Arctic Ecology and Modern Ideology in the Bering Strait, 1840-1980

October 27, 2016
Jeff Moser (History of Art and Architecture, Brown University)
Excavating China’s First Archaeologist

November 3, 2016
Laura Hawkins (Egyptology and Assyriology, Brown University)
Uncovering Meaning in Undeciphered Writing Systems: The Role of “Postscripts” in Proto-Elamite Texts

November 10, 2016
Benjamin Alberti (Framingham College)
Body/Image: Towards an Ontology of Anthropomorphism in First Millennium CE Northwest Argentina

November 17, 2016
Meltem Toksoz (Middle East Studies, Brown University)
Archaeology as History: 19th century Ottoman Conceptualizations

December 1, 2016
Emily Booker (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Material Girls in a Material World: Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines on Cyprus from 1750-750 BCE

December 8, 2016
JIAAW Fall 2016 Proctor Presentations

Brown Bags, Events and Workshops

Brown Bag Talks for Fall 2015

Brown BagTalks are held
Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 PM
Rhode Island Hall, Room 108
Brown University, 60 George Street, Providence, RI

Please note that we are still adding to our schedule, and these dates are not yet finalized.

October 1, 2015:
Nicholas Carter (Haffenreffer Museum, Brown University)
Hinterland History and Hierarchy: The Transformation of a Late Classic Maya Landscape

October 8, 2015:
Douglas Armstrong (Syracuse University)
Small Farm to Large Scale Plantation: The Shift to Capitalism and Slavery in Barbados… and a Preliminary Look at “The Cave of Iron”

October 15, 2015:
Parker VanValkenburgh (Anthropology, Brown University)
El Contrato del Mar: Forced Resettlement and Maritime Subsistence at Carrizales, Zaña Valley, Peru

October 22, 2015:
Tate Paulette (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
“Not to Know Beer Is Not Normal”: The Archaeological Invisibility of Beer and Brewing in Bronze Age Mesopotamia

October 29, 2015:
Ian Randall (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
A Connected Insularity: Conceptualizing Byzantium’s Island Frontiers

November 19, 2015:
Margaret Andrews (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
The Construction of Commemorative Landscapes in Rome’s Subura during the Imperial and Christian Periods

December 3, 2015:
Jen Thum (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
“Ramesses was Here”: Royal Rock Inscriptions at the Ends of the Egyptian World

Brown Bags, Events and Workshops

Brown Bag Talks for Spring 2015

Brown BagTalks are held
Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 PM
Rhode Island Hall, Room 108
Brown University, 60 George Street, Providence, RI

Please note that we are still adding to our schedule, and these dates are not yet finalized.

February 12, 2015:
Andrew Dufton (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
How Do You Solve a Problem Like the City?

February 19, 2015:
Kathryn Howley (Egyptology & Assyriology, Brown University)
Foreign Exchange: The Role of Egyptian Material Culture in Middle Napatan Nubia

February 26, 2015:
Sarah Newman (Anthropology, Brown University)
Sharks in the Jungle: Real and Imagined Sea Monsters of the Maya

March 5, 2015:
Martin Furholt (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany)
Changing Materialities and the Mobilization of Social Practices: The Expansion of the Neolithic Out of Anatolia

March 12, 2015:
Kathryn McBride (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Extreme Hoarders: Coin Hoards and Entangled Practices in Roman Scotland

March 19, 2015:
Alexander Smith (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Indigeneity and Colonial Response: The Metamorphoses of Balearic Culture in the Late Iron Age

April 9, 2015:
Clive Vella (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Against Change: The Central Mediterranean, Desired Stability, and the Never-Ending Pursuit

April 16, 2015:
Mireia López-Bertran (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona)
Bodies, Jars and Figurines of the Punic Mediterranean

April 23, 2015:
Tamara Chin (Comparative Literature, Brown University)
Afterlife Economies: Archaeological and Literary Contexts of Money in Early China

Brown Bags, Events and Workshops

Brown Bag Talks for Fall 2014

Brown BagTalks are held
Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 PM
Rhode Island Hall, Room 108
Brown University, 60 George Street, Providence, RI

Please note that we are still adding to our schedule, and these dates are not yet finalized.

September 25, 2014:
Miriam Müller  (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Ancestor Cults and Household Identity at Tell el-Dab’a, Avaris

October 9, 2014:
Brett Kaufman (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Politics, Prayer, and Pollution at the Neo-Punic Urban Mound of Zita, Southern Tunisia

October 16, 2014:
James Osborne (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Return to Mesopotamia: The Iron Age Diaspora and the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey

October 23, 2014:
Matthew Reilly (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Race on the Caribbean Plantation: Archaeology and the “Redlegs” of Barbados

October 30, 2014:
Anne Hunnell Chen (History of Art and Architecture, Brown University)
New Directions at the Late Antique Palace ‘Felix Romuliana’

November 6, 2014:
Mihalis Kavouriaris (The Ikarian Centre)
A Modern Greek Course for Archaeologists on the Island of Ikaria

November 13, 2014:
Patricia McAnany (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Beyond Colonial Churches: Community Archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán

November 20, 2014:
Hallie Meredith (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth)
Engaging Objects: Openwork Vessels and Gold-Glass from the Late Roman Period